Billy Stretch Biography

Melbourne delist Billy Stretch.

Stretch played 47 games for the club after being drafted as a father-son recruit five years ago.

"Since being drafted, Billy has given everything he had to be the best player he could be," Melbourne footy boss Josh Mahoney said.

"A great teammate, Billy is the ultimate professional and we hope that this is not the end of his AFL career."

Billy Stretch has surgery on his injured toe, with the Demons hoping to have him up and running for the pre-season prior to the Christmas break.

Billy Stretch is in doubt for the rest of the 2018 season after suffering a stress fracture in his small toe after scan results showed a more severe injury than what was first anticipated.

Billy Stretch signs a new deal with Melbourne that will keep him at the club until the end of 2019.

"We’ve been pleased with Billy’s continued development this year,” Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said.

"He’s the ultimate professional off the field and he prepares himself very well every week. We think he’s building the habits to be a very good long-term player."

Melbourne has continued to show faith in the development of its young talent, re-signing Alex Neal-Bullen and Billy Stretch until the end of 2017.

"Alex and Billy have adapted really quickly to the demands of being AFL players," Melbourne football operations boss Josh Mahoney said.

"Both of them were able to play 11 AFL games in their first year and with a full pre-season leading into next year and the year after, we think they’re going to continue to develop into good AFL players."

Billy Stretch makes his AFL debut for Melbourne at the MCG with 7 disposals (6 kicks and a handball), 4 marks, 4 tackles and a goal in a 38-point loss to Sydney.

Melbourne selects Billy Stretch with pick No.42 under the father-son rule in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft.

"He has hit the ground running because he has got a good attitude," Melbourne's recruiting manager Jason Taylor said.

"He has got a light body so will take some time but has been impressive in his first week-and-a-half at the club."